


Misnomer

by pilindiel



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Chain of Memories, Drama, F/M, Sick Character, oh you thought the last one was bad LOL good luck buddy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 12:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11441001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pilindiel/pseuds/pilindiel
Summary: Even when it seems like you live in your own world, your purpose and your place will always come back to remind you of where you belong; Alone.





	Misnomer

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted in 2014 on queenminniemouse

Riku was sick.  His initial sneezing the day previous didn’t go unnoticed by the blonde Nobody and the second he started coughing, Namine knew he was going to be out of commission for a while.  Luckily, DiZ was out of the mansion for several days ‘on business’, so Riku was getting some much needed relaxation.

And that meant he was passed out on some blankets in the corner of the witch’s room, sleeping soundly. Namine couldn’t remember how many times she had sketched him lying there, one arm draped over his stomach and the other at his side. It was…strange, seeing him so vulnerable. So weak. She had even managed to get his coat off to use as another blanket, but she still couldn’t coerce him into taking off the blindfold. She wondered if it helped him sleep through the brightness of her room.

Which brought up a whole other slew of questions to the young Nobody’s mind. Why was he in her room and not his own? Surely it would be more comfortable to be in his own bed to sleep away his fever. Did he not think she would take care of him if he was in his own room? When she asked, he had merely grumbled and rolled over, so Namine dropped the subject. Even without a heart, Namine knew better than to upset the only other person in the castle.

The Nobody had dredged up memories from various people connected to Sora to understand how to proceed with her ailing patient and had recently placed a wet, cold washcloth on his sweating forehead. She remembered Kairi’s mother doing the same when her Somebody was a child, so Namine assumed the same remedy applied here. She also kept a small glass of water beside the sleeping Keyblade Wielder for when he woke up.

The blonde girl watched his sleeping form with growing curiosity. Did Nobodies get sick as well? Hearts aren’t necessarily required for a stuffy nose, after all. Still, Namine doubted it would be possible. It was just another thing to differentiate Nobodies from  _real_  people. There was such a disconnect between the two of them and Namine couldn’t help but feel the rift between them grow more and more as the witch came closer and closer to restoring Sora’s heart.

Namine almost wished that she could stay like this forever, or she would if she had the ability to feel such things. Riku, out of everyone she had met, was the only one who treated her like a  _person_. She had tricked Sora and the Replica, but Riku never treated her like she was an object or something to be used and then thrown away. She was a shadow, she knew that. But the way Riku looked at her and said her name and smiled and  _depended_  on her made her wish that she wasn’t.

Riku’s hand twitched as he slowly began to stir and Namine sat by his side, a small smile on her pale face. She didn’t dare speak, in case he wanted to fall back asleep as he had done before, and his eyes moved beneath the blindfold that obscured his vision.

He smiled faintly, and uttered a single word. It was so soft that it was almost a sigh, but to the Nobody, it crashed down on her like a wave, suffocating her. She was drowning in it. Namine wasn’t sure if she gasped or not, (the sound of blood rushing to her ears drowned out everything else,) but she must have made some sort of sound because the teenager before her flinched, as if knowing he had shattered something important. He made a grab for her hand but she shuffled away.

“Namine – ”

“I’ll just re-wet your washcloth,” she said. Her voice was quiet and soft and she was proud that her hands didn’t shake as she took the still cold fabric from Riku’s ailing body. To anyone else, it would have seemed normal. But Riku knew. Her voice was too quiet. Too soft. Too apologetic. Like she was sorry for existing. She knew he knew, but it didn’t matter. Her bare feet padded faintly across the tiled floor, carrying her away from the silver headed boy. The heavy door closed behind her and Namine stood with her back against the wall, her breathing heavy. The washcloth fell with a dull slap on the wooden floor, but the Nobody didn’t care.

She felt her throat tighten. It was getting harder and harder to breathe with each moment and she held her shoulders to stop her body from shaking. She slunk to the ground, her vision swimming as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

_Kairi_. He had called her  _Kairi_. Of course.  _That_  was why he treated her like a person. Not because he believed she was real. Not because they worked together. Not because he  _cared_. (Why would he?) It was because she reminded him of the person she should be. Of his best friend. Of the girl that  _did_  matter to him.  Of the girl Riku wished was there.  Of the girl he loved.

Namine didn’t have a heart. She knew she could never have one. But if she did, she was sure it would be breaking.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhhhh why did I cause nothing but pain for these two. Why. Why can't I just let children be happy.


End file.
